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Egyptian strawberry growers enjoy an advantage

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The Egyptian strawberry sector has been able to capitalize on the current slump in the Spanish strawberry production. Smaller volumes of Spanish strawberries are finding their way to the market and Egyptian growers and exporters have been able to fill the gap.

"The Egyptian strawberry sector is doing fine," says Nevine Abdel Rasoul of the Egyptian company Pico Agriculture. "There is more room for Egyptian strawberries on the market. This season has been better than the previous year, when the Spanish production came into full swing earlier than usual. Our season is expected to last until March."

The Egyptian strawberry production has been affected by adverse weather conditions, but is currently getting back to normal. The season started in the third week of November

PICO started in the third week of November when prices were high as the volumes were small and the market was empty. The market situation stayed stable for some time, but by mid December prices started to come down again as the volumes started to increase.

According to Rasoul, the quality was perfect in December. However, January brought along some bad weather. Lower temperature decreases during the night led to slower coloration of the fruit. As a result the fruit had to stay in the field a bit longer.

"In nine weeks time, we'll see our second flowering of this season. This means that the volumes will increase. We aim to be finished by the time the Spanish strawberry volumes enter the market."

The main market is the UK but PICO has been focusing on Asian markets like Hong Kong and Malaysia where the biggest challenge is logistics. Some countries request a high level of quality, while others do not. The distance is however a problem. We do not have direct flights to Asian markets. Transit times pose a risk for the quality of the fruit," concludes Rasoul.